Less than a tenth of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering over a billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to broad access to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase access, via strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
These medications replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals reduce food intake.
People usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests people may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the drug, as their usual food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.